Miata Engine Swap into a TR3-New Project Direction?

I do a lot of daydreaming about my Triumphs-it is what I do...a dreamer and a planner vrs a do-er..I should probably be daydreaming less and working in the garage more but that is a whole different issue that I am not willing to address today!! Since I am in daydreaming mode anyway I thought I might as well get my thoughts jotted down. Perhaps this action will allow me to move on?

I was e-mailing a friend yesterday who had made an enquiry into my progress on Triumph to give him an update. As I typed the e-mail I realized it had been many days since I was in the garage last so this morning I went in and checked out my blog and sure enough it was September 7th! Way too long in my determination......

I ventured out into the garage yesterday and cleaned up once again. The clutter continues to mount...I did not clean up as well as I would have liked (everything should probably be pulled out of the garage and sorted and reordered) to but it was necessary to get my woodworking and painting tools put away and a space cleared around the car.

I have also been scheming lately about potentially doing a Mazda Miata engine swap on the '57 and making a "rat rod" type ride out of the car. The TR3 purists would find this concept to be a desecration of the marque but to me it makes a lot of sense to upgrade to a more modern drive train from a reliability and environmental perspective. I have probably spent a couple of hours contemplating the potential and working out some of the major challenges. It seems doable for sure and would provide something completely different as a ride.

The inspiration came from a caption on an E-Bay ad for a Triumph TR3. The current owner was lamenting his lost opportunity for doing the engine swap as he had no time to work on the project-resulting in the listing of the car. His disclosure got me doing some research on the Internet that led me to some very interesting sites where people have documented their conversions. No TR3's covered but a MGA and Sprite so the concept and challenges would be similar. I skimmed through the pages and got a pretty good overview of the processes. There are a couple of areas I am not sure of like the electrical system interface with the computerized fuel injection system and the modifications to the gas tank for the return line etc but I believe these issues can be resolved with more Internet research.

In addition the conversion with probably be cost effective as a JDM Mazda engine and transmission is in the $600 range.

I sense there is going to be more daydreaming ahead!!!

Back to Sheet Metal Fabrication-Patch Panels

This morning I returned to the TR after a considerable absence. (August 17th)...I have been distracted largely by vacation travel and a garden requiring immediate attention...but hey, excuses are excuses regardless of the justification...

Today was an excellent metal fabrication day. An "in the zone" type of experience where the sheet metal patches I was making worked out really well and the time passed quickly. I realized today that I just about have all the patch panels fabricated and I can start cleaning them up and installing them permanently-an exciting prospect for sure...as with other endeavors the execution time has exceeded my estimation by a considerable margin and some of the "rework" related to me just not being happy with the initial fabrication. I have to continue to remind myself this is a "fit for purpose" build and I shouldn't attempt to go overboard with the quality of the bodywork. I just try to do the best I can....

Yesterday I regrouped and cleaned up my garage and put away tools etc. I have been working on my 1979 Vanguard Camper van repairing some rust problems that needed to be addressed earlier than later!!! I have a few projects to tackle...

Yesterday I did some fender assessment related to my extra fenders off the 1957. I plan to use the best ones for the current build on the '59. I am still assessing what to do with the "57. It is still on my mind...something fun to contemplate but action needs to be taken soon-winter will soon be here....

End of the Line on 1957 Hood Refurbishment

Yesterday I determined the 1957 hood is damaged beyond my ability to repair it so I decided to stop working on it and return to the 1959 hood refurbishment. Unfortunately I have $200 worth of bead blasting and probably 6 hours of work into it already that I am going to have to walk away from. My inner voice is telling me I am wasting my time going any further and to have it professionally repaired would be very cost prohibitive. The issue I am dealing with are dents that have been caused by the hood being closed on something in the engine compartment so the dents protrude outwards instead of inward like hail damage etc...very hard to repair properly..

I did a 400 grit wet sand on the '59 hood. I will need to put on another coat of primer for build purposes and an additional wet sanding to get it ready for paint. Not perfect it will be "fit for purpose" for my driver status car.....

The 1957 Hood Plus Strategy Considerations

I have spent a few hours trying to prep the 1957 hood for primer. Unfortunately my endeavors have not met with much success. The hood actually might be too far gone to salvage.. There is a small dent/bulge in the hood probably caused by it being shut on something that was left sitting on the engine? It is proving to be very difficult to repair and I am getting close to giving up on the process. I have to admit my "shade tree" bodywork skills are probably being pushed to the limit and as a result it might be time to turn it over to an expert or even pursue a replacement hood? However this all becomes a secondary consideration if I do not plan to reassemble the 1957??

I continue to ponder my strategy around the disposal of the extra car (the 1957) and the related parts. How far should I take the reassembly before throwing in the towel and hitting Kijijji and placing an ad? The big issue for me is making one drivable car out of the two and having enough money generated from the sale of the second car to finish the first one. My "spider sense" tells me to reassemble the powder coated chassis with all the good parts from both cars then sell off the remaining vehicle as a "basket case". This action must be taken soon as I really feel the need to make a definitive decision and get on with it?

Primer and Such

Current Work: I managed to get back into the garage late last week after returning from vacation. I straightened out the rear spare tire cover and primed it plus the hood and both doors. Total time spent about 8 hours. Yesterday I started doing the prep on the 1957 hood for priming-realizing I waited a little too long between sandblasting and priming so some surface rust formed. Easy to remedy at this stage..

Overall Strategy:

A friend indicated I am probably a better planner than do-er and he is probably right. This observation fits my Meyers-Briggs personality profile..INTJ-I am a big picture kind of guy...details often mess me up....Talking about the "big picture", nothing gets my creative juices flowing more than an early morning planning session and the creation of a critical path to follow.... The problem comes with actually committing time during the day to get the work done that has been planned. I think this is a common issue with people restoring vehicles and one that is causing me a fair amount of grief with respect to making progress... but at least I am aware of the problem..now I am trying to address it...

1957: Hopefully I am going to be able to get the 1957 tub sandblasted along with a couple of the fenders next week. I have a friend who works for a sandblasting firm who has offered to do the work. I really need to get the tub primed and an assessment of the work needed to be done completed. I am uncertain how I am going to proceed but for now are considering a partial reconstruction of the car and subsequent marketing if all goes well..

1959: I need to be heads down on the bodywork while the weather is still good. I want to have the car painted by mid September and if I am going to do this there needs to be a focused systematic approach. Much of the major body work has been completed-it is mainly paint prep that needs to be done...

Back at Panel Bashing

For the last few days I have been working on the doors: The weather for the most part has been cooperating and nothing is better than working in the garage on a warm summer night especially when there are no thundershowers to contend with. I have finished removing all the paint from the right hand door and placed a skim coat of filler to smooth out the contour. In my wisdom (based on an assessment of the existing left hand door skin) I determined to make one good door out of two and sacrifice a damaged door with a good skin to be a donor. The process worked well and I think in the long run will be much more time efficient than trying to repair the existing skin. I also determined to revisit an existing patch panel and through my assessment determined my first attempt is not acceptable so I started over again using the discarded door skin for the purpose. It worked great.

I am trying to get the car totally in primer by July 3rd. I am going to keep my head down and push for this milestone prior to my vacation. I know I will need a break from all the toxic activities related to the body work. When I get back in late July I am going to go back to the mechanical work.

Automotive Project Jealousy

Last weekend I was working in my driveway when I heard someone "feathering" the throttle of a high performance car to get it to idle appropriately. I looked up and saw my neighbor Jim driving his 1968 Camaro around the block. The paint was all stripped with some filler applied. It looks like he is getting ready to take it in for paint. Jim has been working steadily on the car over the last year and a half and it looks like he now has a "runner".

I experienced a full range of emotions as I looked toward the street and saw him motoring by. I will admit I "internally" shared the experience with him and how great it must feel to take the car out of the garage and onto the street under it's own power. At the same time I felt extreme jealousy and disappointment in myself for not being in the same position myself. (we both started our projects at around the same time) The blame game started to get played and from there things got progressively worst emotionally as I crashed into a state of self loathing. It took me a full 2 days to recover-not good. The experience opened my eyes as to what is happening in my life and what I found out was very illuminating to say the least.